Vulnerability identifier: #VU32438

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 2.9 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2014-9680

CWE-ID: CWE-200

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Sudo
Client/Desktop applications / Software for system administration

Vendor: Sudo

Description

The vulnerability allows a local authenticated user to gain access to sensitive information.

sudo before 1.8.12 does not ensure that the TZ environment variable is associated with a zoneinfo file, which allows local users to open arbitrary files for read access (but not view file contents) by running a program within an sudo session, as demonstrated by interfering with terminal output, discarding kernel-log messages, or repositioning tape drives.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Sudo: 1.8.0 - 1.8.11p2

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External links
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/10/15/24
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1409.html
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1033158
http://www.sudo.ws/alerts/tz.html
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201504-02

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.